Best of the Week - 2/16/13

Quote of the Week: I think Lynyrd Skynyrd is overrated, I know you are in Boyd’s pocket. (Raylan Givins, Justified)

Song of the Week: 9 To 5 – Dolly Parton (The Neighbors)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: State of the Union: Like every year before it, I skipped this year’s State of the Union because like always, you could find out of the president was going to say ahead of time and the pageantry around the speech is absurd where the hour long speech only involves about five minutes of actually speaking because of all the clapping and standing ovations, and the occasional shoats of “You lie!” And though we will never get rid of the State of the Union because it is ordained by the Constitution, can we please agree to get rid of the opposing party’s response? Best case scenario is that it is boring but more often the person looks like a fool like when Marco Rubio took a snack break in the middle.

Preview Picture of the Week:

Dallas "Trail and Error" Monday at 9:00 on TNT

Free Download of the Week: Restless Heart – Matt Hires (iTunes)

New Album Release of the Week: Jamie Lidell - Jamie Lindell

New DVD Release of the Week: Game of Thrones: The Complete Second Season

Video of the Week: Last year the funniest new show was not on television but on the intertubes. Burning Love lampooned The Bachelor and this week, in time for Valentine’s Day, the second season debuted with it’s The Bachelorette parody. I was hoping that it would star Sally Draper’s teacher, but alas it was not to be as she was relegated to the "On the previous season" prelude with a very famous face. And maybe she will show up on the third season when they send up Bachelor Pad. Until then, here is the second season premiere of Burning Love and head over to the website where the first three episodes are already ready for your viewing pleasure.


Next Week Pick of the Week: Killing Lincoln, Sunday (tomorrow) at 8:00 on the National Geographic Channel: If you have not gotten enough of the sixteen president over the last couple months, you can commemorate the anniversary of his dead with a movie focusing on his killer. For a full review, check out Previewing Killing Lincoln.

Lyrics Quiz: Love Song

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day so I thought I would run Love Song by Tesla (which was number one on my list of the 100 Greatest Power Ballads of All-Time) through iTunes Genius function and here are the first twenty-five songs that came up. As always leave your guesses, both artist and song title, in the comment section (or e-mail me). If you are correct I will un-bold the lyric and give you credit. Please keep in mind the lyrics quiz is for entertainment purposes only so please only use your own meandering mind to guess them.

1. Got a picture of your house an you’re standing by the door. It’s black and white and faded and it’s looking pretty worn.
2. Do you want to see me begging baby? Can’t you give me just one more day? Can’t you see my heart’s been dragging lately? I’ve been looking for the words to say.
3. I don’t want to hear about it anymore. It is a shame I have to live without you anymore. There’s a fire in my heart, a pounding in my brain. It’s driving me crazy.
4. So here it is, another chance. Wide awake, you face the day. Your dream is over... or has it just begun?
5. Little child, dry your crying eyes, how can I explain the fear you feel inside? Cause you were born into this evil world where man is killing man and no one knows just why.
6. What gives you the right to put a fence to keep you out when other people would let you in? If God was here he would tell it to your face man you’re some kind of sinner. (Signs (Live) - Tesla; guessed by Kevin)
7. I got to know tonight if you’re alone tonight. Can’t stop this feeling, can’t stop this fire.
8. You didn’t know that rock n roll burned so you bought a candle and you lived and you learned.
9. Run, run, run away like a train running off the track. Got the truth being left behind, falls between the cracks.
10. Clean as a whistle, smelling like a rose. She go no dirty little fingers, bloodshot eyes are gone.
11. She calls me Goliath and I wear David mask. I guess the stones are coming too fast for her now.
12. There goes my old girlfriend, there’s another diamond ring. And all those late night promises I guess they don’t mean a thing.
13. We weren’t in love, oh no, far from it, we weren’t searching for some high in the sky summit. We were just young and restless and bored. Living by the sword.
14. And if I had those golden dreams of my yesterdays. I would wrap you in the heaven feeling it dying all the way.
15. Go on and write me up at one twenty-five. Post my face: waned dead or alive. Take my license, all that jive.
16. I’m a fighter, I’m a poet, I’m a preacher. I’ve been to school, oh baby I’ve been the teacher.
17. Well I’m the guy who never learned to dance, never even got one second glance. Across the crowded room was close enough, I could love but I could never touch.
18. Rivers flow into the sea, yet even the seas is not so full of me. If I’m not blind why can’t I see that a circle can’t fit where a square should be?
19. I was born to run, I was born dream, the craziest boy you’ve ever seen. I gotta do it my way, or no way at all.
20. I must be on my way. The time is drawing near. My train is going. I see it in your eyes, the love, the need, your tears. But I'll be lonely without you. And I'll need your love to see me through.
21. Why you act frightened, I m enlightened. You’re weakness fills me. So someday you’ll see.
22. Look at your young men fighting, look at your women crying, look at your young men dying, the way they’ve always done before.
23. Got a surprise especially for you, something that both of us have always wanted to do. We’ve waited so long, waited so long.
24. Well there’s people and more people, what do they know? Go to work in some high rise and vacation down at the Gulf of Mexico.
25. Then I heard it on the street, I heard you might of found someone new. Well who is he baby and tell me what he means to you?

First Impressions: Survivor Caramoan: Fans vs. Favorites II

When they announced that the next season of Survivor would be Fans vs. Favorites II my mind races with the possibilities: Kat or Tarzan from One World, Ralph from Redemption Island, Fabio from Nicaragua, oh goodness, I hope they do not bring back Colton. And when they finally announced who would be returning, it was met with a resounding “huh?” I had to Google half the cast (anyone actually remember Francesca, Brenda, or Corinne?) and the other half read like the Moron half of my proposed Morons vs. Masterminds season. It is clear why they titled this season Caramoan instead of Fans vs. Favorites II because there are few “favorites” to be found.

You had two of the three people who actually gave up their Immunity Necklace only to be promptly voted out in Brandon Hantz (seriously CBS, stop it with the Hantz family) and Erik Reichenbach (who is the lone returnee from the original Fans vs. Favorite). Then you had Phillip Sheppard who surprisingly managed to pass not one but two physiological tests to get on the show. When the first Fans vs. Favorites seasons were announced I thought the Favorites had such an unfair advantage for already have played, but not this time around. I have to feel bad for Andrea Boehlke and Malcolm Freberg for being played on maybe the most inept tribe ever assembled (which is doubly bad for Malcolm who tribe last season was just as incompetent).

Not surprisingly, Special Agent Phillip was once again pitted against his arch-nemesis, the hard to pronounce Francesca. The real question would be how the alliances would break down, would the few sane people team up? Just how many crazies could coexist in one alliance? Also not surprisingly the two of the most mentally challenged contestants of all time, Phillip and Brandon ended up on opposite sides. And just like the first season, Phillip does not have to spend much time trying to pronounce Francesca as he got her out first. Again. Which thankfully means Brandon is on the outs and looks to make a quick an exit his uncle did the last time Russell played.

But enough with the “Favorites”, unlike the first time around, they actually recruited some interesting “Fans” this time around. Unfortunately the two early standouts, former Marine, and surprisingly lazy Shamar Thomas and the very hairy Matt Bischoff went after each other on camp priorities. Really the only other glimpses we got to see of the fans tribe was a “High School” alliance form and just like the dumb jocks and cheerleaders, they apparently cannot count because an alliance of four can still get voted out quite easily (but that means Shamar and Matt would have to align with each other).

After losing the first Immunity Challenge and the promo monkeys making it look like they will head to another Tribal Council next week, it is safe to assume that one of the fans will be crowned the ultimate Survivor this season (unless the “Favorites can do some Jedi Mind Tricks after the merge like what happened to Erik the first time around) and I am going to go ahead and predict that Laura Alexander wins. If a favorite does somehow get the million dollars, my back up choice is Dawn.

Survivor: Caramoan airs Wednesdays at 8:00 on CBS. You can stream episodes on cbs.com. You can also download Survivor on iTunes.

Previewing Inside Combat Rescue

With all the talk of drones these days, let us not forget there are still plenty of brave men and women fighting in Afghanistan putting their lives on the line for this country. On Monday, the National Geographic Channel will highlight some of those that try to help those injured behind enemy lines on Inside Combat Rescue. This is not a reality show version of M.A.S.H., these are the people that take the wounded to the M.A.S.H. units and have to get them there inside the “golden hour” to give the wounded the best chances of survival.

Inside Combat Rescue is the first time in history the United States Air Force is allowing cameras follow the Pararescuemen (you can just call them PJ’s) while they try to save critically wounded soldiers, American or Afghan. The show followed around the PJ’s for four months crossed 130 missions which saved 108 lives. This job is so dangerous, they have to travel in two helicopters, one caring the wounded and a second one trailing to protect the first helicopter.

The six part series is as real as it gets, if you cannot handle fake medical dramas, you may want to skip Inside Combat Rescue because it shows everything including missing limbs (I spent about ten minutes per episode watching through my fingers). But the show also follows the seven men, ranging from someone on his sixth deployment to a rookie, featured during their downtime also, from communicating with family back home (one of them is a soon to be father) to pulling pranks on each other. You even get to witness the crew debate a moral dilemma of whether to go to the rescue of an Afghan kid even though new rules of engagement state that any Afghan citizen should be left to be rescued by the Afghan rescue units. Inside Combat Rescue is a harrowing reminder of the wars that are still being fought and should be watched by anyone who can stomach the more graphic scenes.

Inside Combat Rescue airs Mondays at 10:00 on the National Geographic Channel. You can download Inside Combat Rescue on iTunes. 

Previewing Killing Lincoln

It is weird to think that Presidents Day lines up with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln but Friday marks the 148 anniversary of his death. And almost a century and a half after his death, Abe is having a banner twelve months with three separate movies made about him, the Oscar nominated Lincoln which is odds on favorite to clean up at the awards later this month, one that re-imagined as a Vampire Hunter, and this Sunday, a day before his shared holiday, the National Geographic Channel will be airing their first originally scripted drama, Killing Lincoln based on the book of the same name written by Bill O’Reilly.

Despite being the title character, Lincoln is almost a secondary character with John Wilkes Booth taking center stage for most of the film. Lincoln is even dead by the halfway point (spoiler alert for those that fell asleep during history class and ignored the title of the film). With the focus on the murderer, there are plenty of facts that are brought up that I was unaware of (keep in mind I never read the book) like Booth originally planned to just kidnap Lincoln, along with Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward. Killing Lincoln may be the first in-depth look on the man who was the first to assassinate a sitting president. Even the film The Conspirator, Booth was resigned to a background character.

In this installment Billy Campbell (The Killing) is the one who puts Lincoln’s top hat while Jesse Johnson (Don’s son) is the man behind the gun. It is hard to follow up Daniel Day-Lewis but Campbell play Abe with a calm cool while Johnson treats Booth as an overacting bad guy who pull everything from an actor’s arsenal short of twirling his mustache (probably because it is not long enough). The film is narrated by Tom Hanks who is show in what looks like an abandon stage set where he occasionally fiddles with plots I am not entirely sure ties in with what he is talking about.

But Killing Lincoln is a profound look at one of the darkest days in our counties history with plenty of new information for anyone who has just read the textbook in history class (like it was actually the Chief Justice who conducted the murder investigation). It is also interesting how they portrayed John Wilkes Booth because I do not think it is a coincidences there are a few monologues that Booth sound exactly like what you would hear from a Tea Party member (and, ironically an O’Reilly viewer) talking today about Barack Obama. Killing Lincoln is certainly worth watching and I have a feeling that O’Reilly’s follow up book, Killing Kennedy, will be on air by next Presidents Day.

Killing Lincoln premieres Sunday at 8:00 on the National Geographic Channel. You can also check out the extended trailer below or check out the Interactive Killing Lincoln page.

We On Award Tour: 2013 Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards are always the best award shows of the year just because of all the great performances even if it is an off year for music. But a funny thing happened at this year’s Grammy, it was almost as if I programmed it. I loved almost all the performances (who invited Justin Timberlake, I hate when people who are not nominated get to perform unless they are a legacy artist; plus I do not see Suit and Tie getting nominated for anything next year) and it is almost as if I did the nominating. Sure I could nitpick that Call Me Maybe was nominated for a songwriting award or how Norah Jones was shut out despite releases her best single of her career, Happy Pills. But for the first time I actually endorse every nominee in the most prestigious category, each made my list of The Best Albums of 2012 (or 2011 thanks to the Grammy’s wonky eligibility rule). Usually one (or four) stinkers sneak in, somehow Lady Gaga was that past three years. Since it seemed like this year’s Grammys were geared specially towards me, I have a feeling the ratings will be way down and they will be back to nominating unworthy artists next year (maybe Suit and Tie will get a nod... or five), but I definitely enjoyed this year. Here are some thoughts on last night’s festivities.

- We may be witnessing the downfall of Taylor Swift, her performer, the carnival meets Wonderland meets Marionettes meets Marie Antoinette was way too much. Hopefully Red is her Pop and she will go back to basics with her next album like U2 did with All That You Can't Leave Behind.

- Of course Adele won the first award, after the great ratings of last year, the show want to continue that even if a live performance off a DVD is a bit cheap way to get nominated. But then again it was not like there was much competition in that category.

- When Fun. performed at the nomination special I figured they would not get invited to the big show because they already burned off their best song. But they did get to perform and we were stuck listening to the fifth best song off their album (same goes for Maroon 5).

- I think the suits Miguel and Wiz Khalifa were wearing broke my HD. And of course they went on to announce the Best Country Solo Performance.

- A couple weeks ago someone pointed out to me that We Are Young is a song about domestic abuse ("My seat's been taken by some sunglasses asking 'bout a scar, I know I gave it to you months ago") I it is weird listening to it ever since. Even weirder is a song that may be about domestic abuse won a songwriting award.

- It was jarring seeing Mumford & Sons perform with an electric bass instead of their trademark stand-up bass. And what was with three of them being clean shaven?

- Alicia Keys playing the drums = awesome.

- Should I know who Micky Echo is?

- Best acceptance speech of the night, maybe ever: "I would like to thank the swap meet for his hat." - Jay-Z.

- I really like the aesthetic of the two The Black Keys, but I would like them to make a full band album at some point, preferably with Danger Mouse producing.

- After every review mentioned The Police, of course Bruno Mars had to bring in Sting for his performance. But I wish the Bob Marley part was much longer.

- I am not sure if there is such a thing as male groupies, but if there are, I am thinking about becoming one for the chick from the The Lumineers.

- Do someone slip me some acid or was Carrie Underwood's dress changing shapes and colors?

- How do you invite Prince to an award show and not get him to perform? This may have been the best awards in recent memory, but not getting Prince to sing was an epic fail.

- I guess it should go down as a successful Grammy awards because Chris Brown made it through an entire night without punching anyone.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 2/10/13

How I Met Your Mother: They really should have saved most of the Abby Elliot (I wonder if she is going to run into her real life father and Lily’s fake dad) storyline for next week and devoted ninety-five percent of the episode to Robin Sparkles Daggers. The show is always at its best when it makes fun of Canada, and Robin’s Underneath the Music was the most memorable skit this show has done in recent memory. Hats off for getting Dave Coulier to come in and insist the song is not about him in a not so subtle nod to the rumor that Alanis Morissette’s You Oughta Know is about him. Now if only Bob Saget can get Kimmie Gibbler out of retirement.
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

Dallas: Well that was an ending I did not see coming. Assistant Director Skinner finally makes the title sequence, and then gets gunned down. Unfortunately that pretty much spoils if he survives the gunshot. Although that would be a great misdirect if they put him in the credits only to kill him off in episode three. (Rumor has it Joss Whedon wanted to put Eric Balfour in the credits of Buffy the Vampire Slayer only to kill him off in the two part series premiere but was not allowed because of financial reasons.)
You can download Dallas on iTunes.

Castle: Apparently the NYPD needs to hire me as a consultant because it seems like I am always one step ahead of their investigation. Like this week, as soon as they found the car, my first thought was why would someone kill someone else in front of their car and not use it to transport the body instead leaving the car there with plenty of incriminating evidence inside for a day or two.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Deception: Wait, Mia’s real father cannot possibly be the dude from the John Laraquette show, can it? It has to be him or someone we have not met yet (unless they want to go even ickier and make Julian the father).
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Deception on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: I’m with Spencer, (in only one respect), there is no reason to eulogize Alison again. They did it at her last funeral and presumably when she first went missing and presumed dead. I am not with Spencer for going crazy just because she learned her creepy boyfriend, that she believed less than a year ago killed one of her friends, turned out to really be evil. And finally someone on the show actually stated a theory that I have had since the first episode when Hannah, who of course has always been my favorite, actually questioned if Allison is actually alive. Who else could have been the blonde in the red coat? CeCe? Everyone else on the show I can think of has dark hair except the chick Emily dated a couple of seasons ago.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Justified: Last week I pondered how long it would be until Ellie May teams up with the preacher’s sister to exact revenge on Boyd. Maybe the preacher’s sister is insignificant as Ellie May ended up in the sheriff’s house this week as the lawman looks like he wants to go legit and bring down the Crowder Empire. This would be much more interesting than what I thought was going to happen (though I have a feeling that we have not seen the last of the sister).

I got a sinking suspicion that Josiah may turn out to be Drew Thompson. C’mon, you do not bring in Major Dad to be a dude who sends out his daughter to steal pipe. And what better reason to cut off your own foot if a ruthless druglord who you stole money from is close on your tail? (I always thought the home monitors had heat sensors so such things could not occur, maybe I watch too many of these types of shows.) So either Major Dad is Drew Thompson or the real Drew I the person that kidnapped him.

It was also nice to see shocked Wynn Duffy back. His reactions were always the best and watching the dude from Yes Dead shoot an FBI agent in the head was another classic Wynn look.
You can download Justified on iTunes.

Modern Family: I do not like how they made a joke out of Cat's In the Cradle, one of the greatest tales ever recorded in the history of storytelling.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Modern Family on iTunes.

Subugatory: It is amazing how close to racism they can get away with. That is not to say I did not enjoy Triple A. I actually would not mind more trips to East Chatswin. But I wondered why Dallas just did not sell off enough of her East Chatswinian land to make her a majority Chatswin Proper resident.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Suburgatory on iTunes.

Nashville: Ooo, the show totally put Taylor Swift on blast with Juliet’s storyline this week. Btu it is weird they are trying to turn her into a real artist when at the start of the series they had to auto-tune her in the studio. Now she is singing acoustically live… with no back up dancers? Pretty soon she will be touring with The Lumineers.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Nashville on iTunes.

Community: Kind of clever of the new showrunners to have a tongue in cheek “regular” sitcom inside the show, but they went one joke too far with Inception parody.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

King of the Nerds: Genevieve definitely had reason to hate on Kevin Smith because he jobbed her in that debate. She won that debate going away. Oh well, at least she won the Nerd Off. Seriously, how are you dubbed the “Batman Expert” and lose a comic book trivia challenge? Even I was able to get two questions right and I am not an expert or even studied. Granted one I just guessed, but I was able to guess the right year Superman was introduced before the choices were even announced.